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In October 2012, Facebook surpassed a big milestone when it recorded over 1 billion active monthly users.

With 2.7 billion "likes" recorded on Facebook each day in 2012 (according to statistics released by Royal Pingdom), Facebook has become an essential place for businesses, brands, celebrities, musicians, public figures, non-profit organizations, schools, and more to interact with consumers and the wider audience of online users.

Anyone with a Facebook account can create a Facebook Page within minutes. It's free and easy. However, creating a Facebook Page and creating a great Facebook Page are two very different things. Fortunately, you don't have to be a web designer, programmer, marketing expert, or technology guru to create an irresistible Facebook Page.

Following are 10 simple steps that you can take to create a great Facebook Page that motivates people to click the "like" button.

1. Choose a great username.

The username you choose for your Facebook Page will also appear in the URL for your page. There are already a lot of Facebook Pages, so your first choice might not be available. That's why it's critical that you create a Facebook Page and get your username as soon as possible. Even if you don't plan to aggressively use Facebook today, you might want to in the future. Get your username now, so you'll have it when you need it.

2. Give the key details in the About section.

Your Facebook Page includes a small About section where you can include a couple of sentences about your business or organization. Make sure you include the most important information about what you offer to your audience, so they instantly understand why your page should matter to them.

Also, it's extremely important that you include your website URL in this section of your page. Otherwise, it gets buried in the full About description that's not visible unless a person clicks on the About link on your Facebook Page (discussed in #3 below). Make it easy for people to learn more about your business or organization by making sure your URL is visible in the top-level About section.

3. Provide as many details as possible in the full About description.

Once your Facebook Page is live, you can log into your account and click the Edit Info button to add details and content. Fill in as much basic information as you can to tell your entire story and fully explain what your business or organization does, where you're located, how to get in touch with you, and so on.

All of this information appears in the full About description that people see when they click on the top-level About link on your Facebook Page. If someone is interested enough to click this link to view your full description, you want to make sure they find as much information as possible.

4. Capture attention with a fantastic cover photo visual.

Choose a cover photo that is visually dynamic, capture's people's attention, and lures them in to take a closer look at your Page content. Don't forget that you can include a marketing message in your cover photo. Just be sure to follow Facebook's current guidelines related to cover photos, which you can find in Facebook Page Help.

5. Choose an appropriate profile photo.

Your profile photo is the smaller image that appears on your Facebook Page and as your avatar on all posts and photos you publish on Facebook. Make sure the photo you use is one that accurately reflects your brand, because the more people see it, the more they'll recognize it and associate it with your brand.

6. Make sure the most important apps are visible.

Add apps to your Facebook Page to provide more diverse content and experiences to your audience, and make sure your four most important apps are listed first. These are the ones that will be automatically visible in the app thumbnails section of your Facebook Page beneath your cover photo.

6. Ask your Facebook friends to like your Facebook Page.

Once your Page is setup, use the handy invite option to invite all of your Facebook friends (or a group of your Facebook friends) to like your Facebook Page via a Facebook direct message. This is a great way to get the ball rolling and start building a following.

7. Create some content to make your Page look useful.

Start creating useful, meaningful, interesting, or entertaining content that your target audience wants to read and see. This includes photos and posts (be sure to tag people in both). Also, enter milestones and add content to apps used on your page such as events, videos, and so on. A Page without content is one that no one will like.

Don't have time to publish a lot of content on your Facebook Page? No problem. You can automate some publishing by feeding your blog posts and Twitter updates to your Facebook Page. There are external tools that you can use to set this up such as Twitterfeed as well as some tools integrated with Facebook such as RSS Graffiti.

9. Promote your Facebook Page.

Use Facebook social plugins to enable people to like your page directly from your website and blog or to like your website or blog content and share it on their own Facebook profiles with a single click. There are also social plugins that enable you to show your Facebook Page updates on your blog or website.

10. Offer something extra or exclusive on your Facebook Page.

There is little incentive for people to like your Facebook Page or return to it after their first visit if you don't offer useful, meaningful, interesting, or entertaining content and experiences. Not only should your posts be useful, but you should also create content and experiences that visitors can't get anywhere else. For example, offer a discount for your Page fans or hold a contest and give away a great prize to one of your Page fans. Get creative and find ways to acknowledge your fans and reward them for their loyalty.